I enjoy observing the excitement that either an adult or a child experiences when they get a simple toy. Last week I spent time going Thrift Store to Thrift Store searching for a music box or something that contained a music box to present to my son, who is nine years old this year. I found a music box from a ceramic teddy bear's wooden bottom-base. Of course, the music box had it's flaws; for example, its gears were so dried out it played very very slowly its melody. With a little grease and DW-40, I had made the music box run more optimal.
Has anyone marveled about how a music box operates? I have. When I was younger, I would open and close my mother's jewelry box and turn it upside own and use screw drivers to take it apartment. Two weeks before this week, I noticed my son appreciating music coming from the snow globes at Target Store. When my son stop for a few minutes to listen to music box snow globes, it reminded me of playing one when for him when he was a young as a newborn. The Song it played was the Unchained Melody tune. Unchained Melody would quiet him from his colic in exhausting morning hours before the sun arrived in the horizon. I think he still has that music box at my folk's place.
This week, I smashed the ceramic teddy bear into pieces; I didn't care for the ceramic bear (rest in pieces) I just thought to myself 'what a wonderful gift this would make for my son!" In fact it did. During a van ride to the Simi Valley area, I've never heard my son as quiet as he was that Saturday afternoon. The music box had brought a little bit of magic into that vehicle for the afternoon. He marveled at its gears, listened to the music it played, and for a moment or two he sang with its melody, the song "White Christmas"
If my head were a balloon it would've already popped by now. As I entered my parent's van, I presented the music box on a wooden circular platter / base, it looked really plain Jane and ordinary. I recommended to him that he keep it in a glass or something equivalent so that the music would amplify much better and contain its moving parts.
When I finally gave him the piece, I was so excited. I had broke a ceramic music box to get to its guts! Some ceramic teddy bear is broken to smithereens! *smiles*
Like a hunter bringing back his hunt to his family, I gave the ceramic bear's guts to my son who marveled at it. He hadn't imagine the insides of a music box contain to looks as it did in his hands. I warned him "there's a little spinner there, moving parts, and be careful not to get the grease on your fingers'.
Wasn't until Saturday afternoon, he found it and he was able to spy its gears turning, as he touched its greased gears and tiny parts, and watched it's cylinder of melody notes roll and its keyboard play the White Christmas song and felt the bit of air coming from it's spinning blades.
I thought he just liked the music like I simply do. Of course so! What hadn't occurred to me that his tiny self was asking 'how does it work?'
He tells me, while in the van, that this mechanical music box was like a miniature computer. He wonders on and imagines if one make one as stronger music box, maybe it would efficiently be able to cool a computer... and I guess it happen: when my axons, synapses, and entire brain were overloaded. *smiles*
I thought it's possible. whoa. Imagine a crank-up computer that operates by kinetic energy such as a wounded up spring. If this mechanical music device were to be a computer; the cylinder would be its hard drive... the music keynotes and gears word be the processor of sorts, its spring, its power supply, and the its wooden base it's amplifier. I noticed that the wood make the music volume stronger.
would its spinning blades be strong enough to cool a computer? Andrew-Noel asked. *pop* i think another one of my braincells just busted at the thought. I think so I answered.
I described the contraption a kinetic mechanical device of sorts that allows music to be played on a wooden amplifier.
my dad considers it mechanical; considered it analog. either way it is a contraption that is a raw workings of a computer, a music box is a simple & basic machine.
my son thought that the cylinder of notes was binary on and off switches. and i'm like *kaablewey* the entire drive over to my Simi Valley was a blast. I've never heard him so quietly focused as he marveled about the little thing. The times he spoke was to sing with the music and to ask many many questions.
He had imagined what the insides his music box (Unchained Melody) at home contained, however he did mention that he imagined something different. i'm like whoa. honestly, i don't know what he imagined; but wow.
here's a 'hand-cranked' the same music box song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-pTWB0qrw
a spring-powered music box is much different. In contrast to the 'hand-cranked' music box, it has more parts to it. I'll leave that to be googled by the reader. 'hand-cranked' and 'wind-up' music boxes appearance are different. for sure.
Anyhow, Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays 2013.
